C++ ifstream and ofstream overloading operator reading from file - c++

Question

Hey guys I am trying to overload ifstream and ofstream but without any success.
Header File:
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;
class Complex
{
private:
double real;
double imaginary;
public:
//constructors
Complex();
Complex(double newreal, double newimaginary);
~Complex();
//setter
void setReal(double newreal);
void setImaginary(double newimaginary);
//getter
double getReal();
double getImaginary();
//print
void print();
//methods
Complex conjugate();
Complex add(Complex c2);
Complex subtraction(Complex c2);
Complex division(Complex c2);
Complex multiplication(Complex c2);
friend ifstream& operator >> (ifstream& in, Complex &c1)
{
in >> c1;
return in;
}
};
Test file:
#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
#include <string>
#include "Complex2.h"
using namespace std;
int main()
{
Complex c1;
ifstream infile;
infile.open("in1.txt");
cout << "Reading from the file" << endl;
infile >> c1;
// write the data at the screen.
infile.close();
return 0;
}
I didnt think the cpp file was important since the header file includes the ifstream.
Everytime I run this program i get this error:
Reading from the file
Segmentation fault (core dumped)
I dont know how to fix it.
Thank you very much.

Answer 1

friend ifstream& operator >> (ifstream& in, Complex &c1)
{
in >> c1; // This is calling this function infinitely!!
return in;
}
The above code implements the operator>> for the Complex type. However, it is a recursive function with no stopping condition.
You probably should be do something similar to the following. Obviously, I don't know how the class was encoded so this is just for illustration.
friend ifstream& operator >> (ifstream& in, Complex &c1)
{
double real;
in >> real;
c1.setReal(real);
double imaginary;
in >> imaginary;
c1.setImaginary(imaginary);
return in;
}
I overlooked that it's a friend function so this could also work.
friend ifstream& operator >> (ifstream& in, Complex &c1)
{
in >> c1.real;
in >> c1.imaginary;
return in;
}

Answer 2

As mentioned in my comment, and in the other answer the operator>>() overload is just called recursively.
One of the most common approaches to fix that, is to declare a put() function in your Complex class like:
class Complex {
public:
// ...
private:
double real;
double imaginary;
istream& put(std::istream& is) {
is >> real;
is >> imaginary;
return is;
}
};
And let the global overload call that function:
friend ifstream& operator >> (ifstream& in, Complex &c1) {
return c1.put(in);
}